iPhone 5 could be tapered, bezel-free, and metal-backed

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This weekend some interesting iPhone 5 rumors emerged over at TiMN. While things are still early for the 2011 iPhone–for which most rumors foresee a September launch–the site has heard a number of interesting pieces of information about the device’s design, culminating in a mock-up graphic. As you can see from the side view above, the next iPhone could be slim, tapered, and very different than the iPhone 4.

While things are far from firm at this point, TiMN give is a lot of clues about one direction for the phone. Lately rumors have said to expect either a drastically changed phone or basically a faster iPhone 4, and these are definitely in the former camp. The proposed iPhone 5 would have a MacBook Air-inspired design, with a metal back and contours not unlike those of the iPod touch. The screen will be nearly bezel-free allowing for a size bump up to 3.7-inches (from 3.5) without increasing the size of the phone. Of course a large display at the same resolution means less pixels per inch but rumor has it that this model would run at 312 dpi, still enough to be called a “Retina Display”.

Also the mockup shows a changed Home button. It would be larger and would be able to support gestures. Past this the user interface of the phone seems to be unchanged.

As for the insides, TiMN didn’t hear much yet, but they do expect to see a Gobi GSM/CDMA-combo chipset so different hardware is not needed for different carriers. Nothing was said about the A5 SoC that powers the iPad 2 and will probably power the iPhone 5, but chances are that we’ll see that too.

So there you have it, the latest iPhone 5 rumors. They are, if nothing else, a lot more interesting than simply a processor upgrade to a glass-sandwich that is the iPhone 4, a phone that has been excellent but far from flawless. If these rumors hold even remotely true Apple will have a chance to improve the phone and standardize their design language across their portable devices.